Here's how to cancel a COVID-19 vaccine appointment in York Region

Newmarkettoday.ca
June 29, 2021

Public health's new system will cancel existing appointments for some clinics only

York Region residents have experienced challenges cancelling second-dose COVID-19 vaccination appointments, but a new booking system could offer some help.

Residents have expressed confusion on how to cancel appointments, with some having automatic cancellations and others having to message in, depending on the location of their appointment. But a new booking system implemented June 25 offers a reschedule appointment function for public health-led clinics to help with the process, according to York Region spokesperson Patrick Casey.

Until now, it has been confusing.

At a recent regional council meeting, Vaughan Regional Councillor Linda Jackson expressed the frustration around cancellations and concerns regarding wasted appointments.

“It was just really hard to get the information on how to cancel,” Jackson said “I’m very concerned about people who don’t think to cancel their second.”

She personally experienced issues with cancelling a previously scheduled second dose appointment for her father, which did not occur automatically.

Clinics in the region automatically book a second-dose appointment after someone receives their first dose of the vaccine, Casey said. But systems have booked many of those appointments for months in advance into the fall, and health officials are encouraging individuals to rebook to get earlier appointments.

Casey said all existing York Region Public Health clinic second-dose appointments were migrated to the new booking system. The system enables people to reschedule appointments as they book a new one.

The function will only work if you had your first dose at York Region public health-led clinic, which doesn't include clinics operated by Southlake and Mackenzie Health. But Casey said cancellations are possible with any clinic, with different methodology:

• Hospital-led clinics, including the Ray Twinney Clinic in Newmarket or Cortelluci Vaughan Hospital Clinic, can be cancelled by contacting those clinics directly at 1-877-464-9675
• The SoccerCity drive-thru clinic in Whitchurch-Stouffville did not automatically schedule second-dose appointments, but any cancellation there can be done through a link in the original booking email.
• Appointments arranged outside of the regional system, such as a pharmacy or primary care office, can be cancelled by contacting the clinic provider directly.
• Anyone who booked through the provincial system can cancel at this link: https://vaccine.covaxonbooking.ca/manage.

 

“Don't let any vaccines go to waste,” urged one local resident on Facebook. “Cancel any appointments you don't need.”